WhatsApp’s Spanish language content moderators push for equal pay in internal letter
1Reported today on The Verge
For the full article visit: https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22556436/whatsapp-spanish-language-content-moderators-contractor-equal-pay
Reported today in The Verge.
WhatsApp's Spanish language content moderators push for equal pay in internal letter
WhatsApp's Spanish language content moderators and customer service representatives are pushing the company for equal pay, according to an internal letter obtained by The Verge. They say they've been excluded from a $2 per hour premium paid to other bilingual contractors. The workers are employed by Accenture, a third-party contracting firm, in Austin, Texas.
"For several years now, Accenture, Facebook, and Whatsapp have denied equal treatment and pay to Spanish language Contingent Workers," employees say in the letter. "It is an insult for companies like Facebook and Accenture to publicly champion diversity, but yet fail to deliver this to its own workers." Accenture classifies much of its workforce as contingent, meaning employees are hired as contractors for a specific period of time.
Workers are demanding that Spanish language contractors receive the $2 premium, as well as backpay for the money they missed out on since they were hired.
One worker says they were told they'd need to learn Arabic or Portuguese in order to receive the premium. "I'm already bilingual," the employee says they responded, in an interview with The Verge. Still, the policy didn't change.
The letter was sent to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart, and Accenture CEO Julie Sweet. It was posted today on Workplace, Facebook's internal communications platform. It currently has 89 signatures from Facebook, WhatsApp, and Accenture employees.
The letter came after workers pushed for years to have equal pay, according to the internal letter. "Managers and HR reps for Accenture in Austin, Texas have not only ignored the complaints of discrimination for several years